#like exponentially

Your hope that you could avoid him tonight was completely in vain. Noir smiles as a drunk woman brushes her fingers over his face and you grit your teeth so hard it feels like a thunderstorm in your head — but unlike her, you see the way his fist clenches and he recoils an inch before forcing himself to stop.

You do your best to remain dignified as you walk out when simply tearing your gaze away isn't enough. You need air. You can't keep watching him act, playing the last conversation you had with him over and over. You can't wait for me. You might be waiting forever.

Then he'd actually patted you on the back, eyes filled with pity for the fool that chose to care about him. The space between your shoulder blades where his hand had been itches now, and you reach back to adjust your clothing as you stare out over the green heartland. A castle is an unconventional choice for a party like this, but the hills and fields lessen the call of the void, more welcoming than the harsh lights and buildings like rows of teeth have ever been.

"It's pathetic."

You flinch, taking a step away from the voice. Kai's joined you out on the stone balcony, an empty glass in his hand, and his sneer tells you that he's not about to offer his support.

"He stares at you every time you look away. He's too old to still believe he's ever had any subtlety. Even Twenty doesn't embarrass us like this," he continues, his words burrowing under your skin. "Could you do something about it? Break his heart already. For your own good."

You can't keep listening to him. You thrust your own glass at him as a distraction and slip past, already too shaken by Noir's recent behaviour to handle taunts with grace. Break his heart already. Do you have that kind of power over him? If so, how could he have pushed you away so easily?

He stares at you every time you look away. Maybe he's already broken his own heart. How do you get to a man that's half barbed wire and half glass?